What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

The Sony W650D LED TV has an average picture quality. It has good blacks when viewed in a dark room. Unfortunately, its screen uniformity has issues and the TV cannot get that bright. On top of that, when viewed from the side, its picture loses even more of its appeal.

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Design

The Sony W650D doesn't boast a high end look but appears better than some other cheaper TVs. It is entirely made of plastic and its stand has a decent finish. The edges are thin but its back becomes thicker around the middle of the TV.

Stand

The stand has a small footprint and holds the TV steadily. Interestingly, cables can be routed inside the back legs of the stand for a clean setup.

Footprint of the 40" TV stand: 24.8" x 8.3"

Back

Wall Mount
:
Vesa 200x200

The back of the TV isn't attractive but doesn't look particularly bad either. If wall mounted, the optical out input and one of the HDMI ports will be hard to access.

Borders

Borders
:
0.75" (1.9 cm)

Borders have an average thickness.

Thickness

Max Thickness
:
2.52" (6.4 cm)

Compared to other smaller and cheaper TVs, the W650D doesn't appear too thick. Our max thickness measurement has been taken at the bottom part of the TV where it is thicker.

Movie performance on the Sony W650D is average due to the limited features. Dark scenes are fine, only showing issues with the black levels in very dark rooms. Those who are sensitive to judder will notice when playing movies through a set top box or PC, and the colors are about average with very limited options to fix issues.

Good value:
Full-array/direct lighting is better for local dimming. As for the uniformity of the screen, it depends on the implementation. Some edge-lit TVs have more uniform blacks than some full-array TVs.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more regular movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over SDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for SDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over SDR signal.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity the TV can obtain while playing a movie or while watching a TV show. This scene was selected to represent a more realistic movie condition. All measurement are made with the TV set to be as bright as possible, but with a 6500k white. Measured with local dimming, max backlight and over HDR signal. Scene: here.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, present on screen for a short time; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The maximum luminosity, even if only maintained for a short time, of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 2% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright highlights, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 10% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

When it matters:
Bright objects, persistent throughout a scene; especially for HDR content.

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 25% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 50% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

What it is:
The lowest maximum luminosity (usually after it has stabilized) of a white square covering 100% of the screen, with the TV set to be as bright as possible. Measured with local dimming and over HDR signal (if supported).

The gray uniformity on this TV is bad, not only are the corners dark but there is a black patch on the bottom of the screen. There isn't too much banding, but you'll definitely be able to see a dirty screen effect while panning over a playing field.

Even from just slightly on the side, blacks begin to become gray and colors shift. The vertical viewing angle isn't as bad due to the horizontal alignment of the pixels (see the 'Pixels' section) which makes this TV a better fit for setup where the TV is higher than viewers eye level, for example in a bedroom.

The Sony W650D has an 8 bit panel and processing as can be noticed in our gradient test pattern. The anomalies won't be such an issue in regular content except for some banding that can be seen in a few scenes.

Similar to the Sony W600D, there are no settings to get improved results. Therefore, the post-calibration is identical to the pre-calibration.

Update: After the review was done, we were made aware of the white balance setting in the service menu. To access this menu, while the TV is off, press on the remote in this order: 'Display', '5', 'Volume +' and power on.

This is the second TV we see with an horizontal pixel substructure, the other being last year Sony R510C. TVs with this kind of pixel substructure don't have a good horizontal viewing angle but have slightly better vertical viewing angle which is good for setups where the TV is mounted above eye level.

7.7

Motion

The Sony W650D isn't the greatest television to watch sports on. Overall the trail for motion blur isn't a problem when dealing with fast objects such as a soccer ball. During panning shots over the playing field you will notice screen uniformity issues.

On average the response time for this TV is good, unfortunately, a long trail can be seen following the logo. This is due to the transition from 0% to 100% that takes considerably longer than usual. The backlight of the TV is flicker free.

Inputs

Video games performance on the TV is average. The motion blur should not be a problem, except in fast moving scenes with high contrast. The input lag is average and should not be a problem. Chroma 4:4:4 support at 1080p results in better defined text when used as a PC monitor.

Sound Quality

The Sony W650D can get loud and its sound is slightly better than most other TVs. It isn't anywhere near good though and a sound bar would be a good upgrade for those who like a better audio experience.

Note: Sound Quality test for TVs reviewed before 2017 was performed at 75dB, 85dB, and Max SPL. Starting 2017, the target SPL levels have been changed to 70dB, 80dB, and Max dB SPL.

Smart Features

The Sony W650D offers a reasonable smart interface, but it's definitely not something that would impress anyone. It is quite basic, but still offers highly demanded applications such as Netflix, Amazon Video, and Hulu plus which can be downloaded from the Opera TV Store. In terms of inputs, you do not get a whole lot with this television, don't expect to be able to connect all your devices to it easily.

Apps

The TV doesn't come with a wide range of pre-loaded applications, but the Opera TV store offers popular ones such as Youtube, Netflix, Amazon Video, and Hulu Plus.

The Vizio D 1080p 2016 is a better TV as long as the content being watched is of high quality (1080p). It has less blur which makes it an even better choice for video games and sports. It is also a better fit for the living room since it can get brighter.

The TCL FS3750 offers better performances all around and comes with a much stronger smart platform. It has fewer picture options but as a whole, there are not many reasons to get the Sony W650D over the TCL FS3750.

The Sony W600D only comes at a size of 32" and has worse picture quality than the W650D when viewed directly in front. It maintains a better picture quality when viewed from the side though, and has better motion which makes it a better pick for sports and video games.

Decent TV for a range of usages. Picture quality in a dark room is poor for watching movies due to the low native contrast ratio, but handling of motion is good and image remains accurate when viewed at an angle.

What it is
Movies in the dark. The TV will be used for watching movies in a controlled environment, directly in front, in a home theater way. Mostly only high quality content, like Blu-rays, UHD Blu-rays, streaming and a little bit of HDR.

What it is
TV Shows in a bright living room. The TV will be used in to watch TV shows, in a bright room during the day, from multiple viewing positions at different angles. The content watched has an average quality: cable, streaming, SD channels, etc.

Decent for watching TV in a bright room. Image remains accurate when viewed at an angle, and the poor native contrast ratio isn't noticeable with ambient light. Reflections handling is quite good, but the TV can't get very bright to fight glare.

What it is
Video games. The TV will be used to play video games, directly in front, in a controlled light environment. Usually fast games, like online FPS, where motion blur and input lag is important.

What it is
HDR Gaming. The TV will be used to play HDR video games using consoles that support it or on current generation gaming PCs. Xbox One S, PS4 Pro, GTX 10 series and AMD RX series graphics cards.

Decent PC monitor. Supports up to a 1080p resolution with full chroma information for clear text, and the edges of the screen remain accurate even when viewed from up close. Feels responsive due to low input lag and little motion blur.

Questions & Answers

You need to use the 2 VESA spacers that came in the box with the TV to be able to attach correctly any wall mount bracket. The 2 spacers will need to be screw in the top 2 positions identify by the number '1', after just attach your wall bracket like you would to any other TV.

Great review! But I wanted to ask you, I heard that Sony usually calibrate their TV with a gamma of 2.4 in cinema mode and when I switch to this mode, the gamma is set at -2 by default, can you measure it to see if it's correctly tracking the 2.4 gamma? Also, can you try to calibrate the white balance with that new setting to see what improvement you can achieve with it? Or you're lacking of time? It would be so so so kind to you! By the way, in cinema mode you can still change all the pictures setting by going to the menu by the "Home" button!

After some testing, we can confirm that in cinema mode with default setting and with gamma set a -2, that the TV is tracking a gamma of 2.4. Unfortunately, we don't have time to recalibrate the white balance of this TV under this new setting.